


Nurse Becky

by tooattachedtofiction



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Canon Divergent, F/M, Hinted Abuse, Not Canon Compliant, black friday never happened, lex is still in school, literally just fluff oop, my babies are getting through things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23113480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooattachedtofiction/pseuds/tooattachedtofiction
Summary: In which Black Friday never happened, Lex is still in school and Becky works at Hatchetfield High.Alternate Title: Lex and Ethan learn how to trust adults
Relationships: Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Ethan Green & Hannah Foster, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 6
Kudos: 146





	Nurse Becky

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on my bullshit  
> I couldn't help but write for these characters, I just want them to have happy endings. I don't have the energy to make this longer but I needed more found family fics!!  
> PLEASE COMMENT IT MAKES MY DAY  
> Nox

Becky Barnes wasn’t sure how she landed this job at Hatchetfield High, but she’s glad she did. Her first visitor is Tom Houston, the very same man she used to rule the halls with when they were teenagers. Those times have long past, but now that Stanley’s out of the picture, she can daydream. 

“Happy first day.” Tom grins from the door frame. “Ready to go back to high school, Nurse Barnes?” 

She knows Tom’s recently widowed. Becky wishes she could have gone to the funeral, but he’s here now. He’s the only safe place she has anymore, and she relishes in the feeling. Her feet are moving and the next thing she knows, she’s giving Tom a warm hug. 

“It’s so good to see you.” She squeals, pulling away only seconds later. “I think I’m ready, yeah.” Tom’s changed, but she can still pick out pieces of his teenage self. His fashion never strayed from flannels, and his frame is the same as it always has been. 

“I’ll bring you coffee on Friday to celebrate your first week.” Tom promises, but the warning bell rings before he can say anything else. “See you around, Becky.” 

She missed the way her name rolled off his tongue so easily. His voice always smoothened out the rough consonants in the middle. 

She wants to go back to highschool. 

The irony is that she’s already there. 

~~~

Becky’s introduced to the kids, slowly. Most of the time, they come in asking for band-aids or ice packs. She wonders why they don’t just ask their teachers. She knows every classroom has a first aid kit, but she never knows how to phrase the question. 

Aside from assisting the students, there’s paperwork, and a lot of it. A few students opted out of some necessary vaccinations, and she’d have to check in with them later. Beyond that, things seem to be running smoothly. She hands out pads and tampons almost daily, but most of the girls know what cabinet they’re in by now. They always shoot her a grateful smile, especially when she slips them a fun-sized Hershey bar on their way out.

There are the homeless students too. Not a lot of them go to Hatchetfield, but the few that do seem to be scared of her. Still, word gets around that she has soap and deodorant. When they start coming in more often, she uses some of her own money to get clothes for the kids to borrow if they absolutely need it. 

Becky teaches sex-ed for the first time to all the girls in school, and then all of the guys that semester. She tries to make it funny to ease the awkwardness, using Tom as her scene partner during his free periods. They’re blushing like they’re learning these things all over again. 

(They aren’t, but it’s amusing enough for the students to pay attention.) 

Becky doesn’t meet Lex Foster until the latter’s second semester of sophomore year. Tom brings the girl in after a minor injury in the woodshop. 

Lex hopes that the injury isn’t serious enough to go to the hospital. God knows her family can’t pay those hospital bills. It was only a little stint with a nail gun, and it only broke a few layers of skin. She knows if the nail had hit a vein she’d be in trouble. Lex tries to ignore the pulsing feeling that’s coming from her now-injured finger.

Becky’s seen Lex in the office a few times, looking for sanitary things, but they never talk. Lex just grabs and goes on her way, muttering a quick _ thanks _ that she doesn’t want Becky to hear. 

“Becky, this is Lex. We had a situation with the nail gun.” Tom sighs. “I didn’t know if a band-aid would be the best fix, so…” He trails off as Becky goes to grab her equipment. 

“Scale of one to ten?” Becky asks, looking at Lex. 

“I’m  _ fine.”  _ The teenager insists, but she lets Becky fret over her. It’s a nice change, compared to home, where Lex’s mother makes her injuries instead of healing them. She’s wary, though. Lex can’t let any of the teachers know about her family. They’ll take her away from Hannah, and that’s the last thing she wants in the world. 

“Looks like it’s a small puncture wound. Come over to the sink, I’ll need to clean it before I can wrap it up. To-” Becky stops herself before she can reveal anything in front of Lex. “Mr. Houston, class is about to start.” She turns on the sink and Lex follows. 

“I have a free period.” Tom says, leaning on one of the beds. Becky looks at the time and shoots him a quick glare before guiding Lex’s finger underneath the running water. 

“No, you don’t.” She scolds gently. “Go teach.” 

“Feel better, Lex!” Tom calls out, letting the crowd in the hallway envelope him. 

Becky wraps Lex’s finger in gauze and tape in no time, then writes up her hallway pass. “You’re good to go, Lex.” 

She looks down, sneaking another look at the time. But when she looks back up, the office is empty, and Lex is gone. 

~~~

A week later, Tom brings in another kid, Ethan. It’s late in the day and there’s only one more period left until dismissal. Becky’s seen him around Lex Foster in the halls, but that doesn’t matter now. Ethan’s cheek is cut and bruised, and it’s starting to puff up. 

“Hallway fight.” Tom grunts as he shifts Ethan’s weight so the student is sitting on one of the beds. “If we thought we were brutal, these kids are barbarians.” 

“Let’s get the puffing down first. Do you know why the fight started?” Becky asks, taking an ice pack from the fridge tucked away in the corner. She presses it gently against Ethan’s cheek before looking over at Tom. 

“They’re talking to the other kid right now.” Tom says. 

“He insulted Lex. I stepped in.” Even with the leather jacket and hard exterior, Ethan seems to have been broken up about this fight. 

“I’m going to have to call home-” Becky starts, handing the ice pack to Ethan so he can hold it to his cheek. Ethan’s voice rings out, louder this time. 

“Don’t call.” Ethan says. 

“Ethan, it’s school policy-” Tom starts, but Ethan cuts him off, too. 

“That’s not a good idea. I’ll only end up worse.” 

Before the two adults can ask any more questions, Lex runs in, pulling Ethan in a tight hug. “Don’t do that.” Her voice is muffled by Ethan’s shirt, but it’s enough for the adults to exchange a look with each other. 

“All in a good day’s work.” Ethan jokes, and Lex nearly smacks his arm. 

“Ms. Foster, please return to class.” Becky clears her throat and Lex looks over at the two, realizing that they’re still in the room. 

“I’m staying.” She doesn’t give any room for them to say no. Becky shoots another look at Tom, who only shrugs. 

_ Later. _ He mouths. 

~~~

They never do get an explanation. Instead, they get Hannah. 

Hatchetfield Elementary had a staff day, and Lex wasn’t comfortable with leaving Hannah at home with an alcoholic for a mother. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but she couldn’t ditch. One more detention and she’d get a call home. 

Then she  _ really _ couldn’t stay any longer in the shitty trailer. 

So she does the next best thing: She goes to Mr. Houston. 

She quickly explains the situation, saying that her mom has work (not true) and that she would take Hannah to her classes but she really needs to focus (not true) and she doesn’t know what else to do. Tom doesn’t feel safe leaving Hannah to her own devices in a woodshop. Considering Lex’s careful attitude and the fact that she still managed to puncture herself, Tom wants to avoid that as much as possible when it comes to the eight year old. 

In a weird way, Hannah reminds Tom of his son, Tim. 

They end up at the nurse’s office, where Becky has only just arrived. Of course, today it’s raining, and the traffic is horrible. But she’s there and somehow, she agrees to their plan. Lex tells Becky everything she needs to know: Webby is Hannah’s best (imaginary) friend, she adores Ethan, and a lot of her responses aren’t full sentences. Becky keeps track of this information and suggests printing out coloring pages. Hannah agrees immediately when asked.

When lunch time comes around, Tom gets food for Hannah from the cafeteria. She picks at a few things but returns to her coloring after she’s done eating. Ethan and Lex stop in from time to time to say hello, but Hannah survives. She’s even smiling at Becky when the dismissal bell rings and Lex comes for pick up. 

Becky tells Lex to ask her if she ever needs help with anything. She doesn’t know much about mental disorders, but she signed up for nursing school because she wants to help people. 

She wants to help those three in more ways than stitching them up.

But she’ll settle with their antics until she finds a way. 


End file.
